Amman, Oct. 1 (Petra) -- The national taekwondo team will launch its campaign at the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, on Friday, beginning a two-day schedule across traditional and virtual taekwondo competitions.

Mohammad Al-Adarbeh will be the first Jordanian in action, facing Kazakhstan's Rita Bakisheva in the round of 16 of the mixed individual virtual taekwondo event.

The competition uses virtual reality technology, with athletes wearing specialized equipment and sensors that capture their physical movements and translate them into a virtual environment. Competitors execute taekwondo techniques without direct physical contact.

The virtual event brings together 16 athletes from Jordan, Mongolia, Thailand, South Korea, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Singapore, Kazakhstan, Hong Kong, India, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines and host Japan.

Jordan will also have three athletes competing in conventional taekwondo on Friday. Jaafar Al-Dawoud will face Kyrgyzstan's Alisher Asimbek Uulu in the men's under-58kg round of 16, while Razan Al-Rawashdeh meets the UAE's Amna Al-Loghani in the women's under-67kg category.

Saleh Al-Sharabaty will open his men's under-80kg campaign against Tajikistan's Aslanbek Fazilov, also in the round of 16.

Four more Jordanian athletes will enter competition on Saturday. Fadia Al-Kharfan begins directly in the women's under-57kg quarterfinals, where she will face the winner of the bout between the Philippines' Bebe Jessica Canabal and Cambodia's Julie Mam.

Zaid Mustafa will meet Afghanistan's Hikmatullah Zain in the men's under-68kg round of 16, while Rama Abu Al-Rub faces Qatar's Noor Mohammad in the women's over-67kg division.

Al-Adarbeh will also compete in conventional taekwondo, taking on Japan's Hidenori Ibata in the men's over-80kg round of 16.

Taekwondo has been part of every Jordanian Asian Games campaign since the Kingdom first competed at Seoul 1986 and remains the country's most successful sport in the continental event.

Jordanian taekwondo athletes have won 27 Asian Games medals to date, three gold, 13 silver and 11 bronze.

//Petra// RZ

01/10/2026 12:50:05